Year: 2014

What’s in God’s Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth?

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What’s there in the Bible? It is a dangerous question. We might do better not to come too near this burning bush. For we are sure to betray what is—behind us! The Bible gives to every man and every era such answers to your questions as they deserve. We shall always find in it as much as we seek and no more: high and divine content if it is high and divine content that we seek transitory and “historical” content, if transitory and “historical” content that we seek Nothing whatever, if it is nothing whatever that we seek. The hungry are satisfied by it, and to the satisfied it is surfeiting before they have opened it. The question, “What is in the Bible?” has a mortifying way of converting itself into the opposing question, “Well, what are you looking for, and who are you, pray, who make bold to look?” (Karl Barth, “The strange new world in the Bible.” Cited from Gregory Alan Thornburry) So, what’s in God’s Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth? What might …

5 demons you will have to fight as long as you are married

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I believe in happily ever after. But the road to get there is not necessarily paved with gold. “Any mature, spiritually sensitive view of marriage must have at its foundation, mature love and not romanticism.” True marriage thrives on a willingness to work hard and a resolve to fight for all the promises that marriage holds. In this post, I highlight five obstacles to happily ever after: 1. Unhappiness A sense of happiness is very essential to the overall health of your marriage. Without it, the doors swing wide open to infidelity, anger, and divorce. The problem with happiness though, it comes and it goes. Finding a way to bring it back by intentionally working on the things that make you happy is key to a successful marriage. Gary Thomas asked a very powerful question in his book Sacred Marriage that I think is a starting point to understanding happiness in marriage. He asked, “What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?” I believe if we are seeking holiness in our marriage it will produce the happiness we so …

Jesus and Children: 10 Bible Verses into His thinking

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Children have access “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away.” Matthew 19:13-15 Childlike faith and kingdom access “And said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 Revelation is not too deep for Children “In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Luke 10:21 Children deserve good gifts “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, …

Divine Healing Is an Integral Part of the Gospel

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The ministry of both Jesus and the apostles gives evidence that divine healing was integral to the proclamation of the gospel message. It was an important witness to Jesus as the revelation of the Father, the promised Messiah, and the Savior from sin (see John 10:37,38). The Bible shows a close connection between the healing ministry of Jesus and His saving, forgiving ministry. His power to heal was actually a witness to His authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–12). Frequently the gospel writers testify that His healing miracles parallel His preaching of the gospel, both being the purpose of His ministry (Matthew 4:23; 9:35,36). People came from all directions both to hear Him and to be healed (Luke 5:15; 6:17,18). He never turned any away but healed all varieties of sicknesses, diseases, deformities, defects, and injuries (Matthew 15:30,31; 21:14). He also delivered people from demons and the problems they caused (Matthew 4:24). Jesus recognized that sickness is ultimately the result of the fall of humans into sin, and in some instances may be linked to specific sin (John 5:14) or to the activity of Satan (Luke 13:16). …

Divine Healing Is a Gift of God’s Grace for All

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Just as salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), so all God’s blessings and gifts are ours by His grace, or unmerited favor. They cannot be earned or deserved. It should be noted that instead of demanding healing from Jesus, the New Testament records that people came asking for His compassionate ministry. They did not look on healing as their right, but as a gracious privilege extended to them. That we cannot earn God’s blessings, including divine healing, should make us realize the importance of cultivating our life in the Spirit, for the Spirit will “give life to your mortal bodies,” and that is our real hope (Romans 8:11). In fact, even though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). It is this inner renewal that makes us best able to have the faith to receive the gift of divine healing. To the woman healed of her twelve-year-long bleeding, Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34). Paul at Lystra, when he saw that …

Divine Healing Will Be Fully Realized When Jesus Returns

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We are living at present between the first and second appearances of Jesus Christ. At His first coming He provided, through His life, death, and resurrection, atonement for sin and its consequences. In this era divine healing, a gift of God’s grace, is seen as a proleptic expression of the complete redemption of the human body. At His second coming what was begun will be brought to completion—salvation from sin and all its effects will be realized. In this period of the “already and not yet” some are healed instantly, some gradually, and others are not healed. The Bible indicates that until Jesus comes we groan because we have not yet received the full redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Only when the dead in Christ rise and we are changed do we receive the new bodies which are like His glorious body (1 Corinthians 15:42–44,51–54). Even followers of Christ groan and travail in pain like the rest of creation, waiting patiently for the fulfillment of our hope (Romans 8:21–25). In that the human body …

Divine Healing Is Provided in the Atonement

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The ministry of the priests under the Law foreshadowed the ministry of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses (astheneia, weakness, sickness, disease, timidity, infirmity)” (Hebrews 4:14,15). The Old Testament priests, through the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices, made atonement for the sins of the people. An examination of the concept of atonement in the Bible shows that in most cases it refers to a ransom price paid for redemption and restoration, which points to the redemption through Christ accomplished by the shedding of His blood in our behalf. The apostle Paul described it this way: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25). The phrase, “sacrifice of atonement,” translates the Greek hilastērion, which can be also translated expiation, propitiation, atonement, or mercy seat. Leviticus 16 records God’s expectations for Israel’s Day of Atonement and the ministry of the high priest sprinkling the blood of a sin offering on the atonement cover (the solid gold lid on top of …

If our hope in Jesus is only for this life, we are the most pitiful and miserable of all men

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“If our hope in Jesus is only for this life we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:19 Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the most important element of our faith. Everything rises and everything falls with or without it. Dismantle it, and Christianity as we know it comes crumbling down. That indeed is not an easy task, however. Christianity has survived all sorts of scrutiny and has stood the test of time. Unfortunately, some Christians are too heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. But tragically, some are too attached to their earthly goods that they have lost sight of this crucial truth – The Resurrection! At this time of the year, it will do us some good to shine some light on this life changing event. Hopefully, we can refresh our minds and translate the experience into a lifestyle that goes on throughout the year. So, join me today and lets look at His resurrection and what it mean. “If there is no resurrection from the dead” how does that affect our faith …

I AM: 7 Incredible Claims of Jesus

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When we look at the life of Jesus, it is hard not to notice his claims. The Pharisee mocked him when he called himself  “light of the world.” His followers left him when he called himself “bread of life.” Crowds denounced him when he talked about himself as the “Good Shepherd.” And when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life” – it cost him his life. When Jews heard those two verbs I am – I am (as translated from the Hebrew), they knew exactly what Jesus meant. It was something more than a metaphor – He was claiming deity. We understand from Exodus 3:14 that this is the same title God the father gave himself. These claims are so powerful and bold that they arrest your attention and cause you to think. I am the Bread of Life John 6:35: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never hunger, whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Manna, the bread that comes from above – fill with the necessary nutrients to sustain life …

10 unforgettable Promises from God’s Word

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Bruised Head & Bruised Heel “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 This promise is fulfilled in the incarnation and through the crucifixion of Jesus. In God’s infinite mercy our redemption is purchased. Father of Nations, Father of faith “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for …